22-year-old hospitalized after bingeing on 60 'funky balls' weekly

Dr. Le Nhat Duy from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine said on Wednesday that the patient was admitted after two months of progressive limb numbness and muscle weakness, severely affecting his mobility and ability to walk normally.

Medical examination revealed extensive numbness throughout the patient's arms and legs, especially at the extremities, accompanied by muscular weakness.

The man said he had been regularly inhaling nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, from balloons two to three times weekly, consuming between 10 to 20 balloons per session. Doctors identified nitrous oxide as the direct cause of his neurological damage.

He was subsequently treated with vitamin B12 supplements and intensive rehabilitation therapy aimed at recovering neurological function.

In recent years, nitrous oxide balloons, also known as "funky balls," have grown popular as a recreational substance due to their euphoric effects. While nitrous oxide is medically approved for pain and anxiety relief, its misuse has increasingly raised health concerns.

Vietnam's Ministry of Health banned the recreational use of nitrous oxide balloons in 2019, restricting its usage strictly for industrial purposes or medical treatment under a physician's supervision.